Β-Pinene

β-Pinene is a monoterpene, an organic compound found in plants. It is the less abundant of the two isomers of pinene, the other being α-pinene. It is a colorless liquid soluble in alcohol, but not water. It has a woody-green pine-like smell.

β-Pinene is one of the most abundant compounds released by forest trees. If oxidized in air, the allylic products of the pinocarveol and myrtenol family prevail.

Sources

Many plants from many botanical families contain the compound, including:

• Cuminum cyminum
• Humulus lupulus
• Pinus pinaster
• Clausena anisata
• Cannabis sativa
• Piper nigrum
• Myristica fragans .
• Citrus aurantiifolia
• Pistacia lentiscus

The clear compound is produced by distillation of turpentine oils.

Uses

β-Pinene is usedin the production of other aroma compounds. It converts to myrcene upon heating at 500 °C. Nerol is obtained by careful fractional distillation of crude nerol from myrcene).

Reaction with formaldehyde (Prins reaction) converts β-pinene to nopol. When nopol is acetylated, the result is nopyl acetate, which is used as fragrance material.

References